Key Points
- Spain's Women's World Cup final victory over England reached over 5.54 million Australians.
- An average of 2.1 million tuned in to the Matildas' third place match against Sweden.
- Seven said 18.6 million people watched the 15 matches it broadcast.
Spain's Women's World Cup final victory over England reached over 5.54 million Australians on Seven, according to official OZTAM ratings.
This doesn't include viewers of Optus Sport or those at public venues and live screenings.
An average national audience of 3.08 million tuned in on Seven and 7plus, including 2.7 million viewers on Seven (two million in the capital cities) and another 373,000 viewers on 7plus.
Seven said the 15 matches of the tournament it broadcast reached almost 18.6 million Australians.
The Matildas earlier broke viewership records including a record TV audience of 11.15 million people for their semi-final clash, with an average figure of 7.13 million across that match.
They went down to England 3-1 in the semi-final, sending them into the third-place play-off against Sweden on Saturday.
That match, which they lost 2-0, was watched on Channel 7 by an average of over 2.1 million - a figure that, again, doesn't account for viewers of Optus Sport or those at public venues and live screenings.
After falling 2-0 short against Sweden, the Matildas were given the keys to the city of Brisbane on Sunday at a public event before heading home.
Most of them said they were hurting but proud.
Caitlin Foord was sporting a developing black eye and a lump on the side of her head after the loss against Sweden.
Foord clashed heads with Swedish captain Kosovare Asllani before half-time but soldiered on, sporting a bandaged head, for the entirety of the 2-0 loss in the bronze medal play-off.
Foord also played in the Matildas' 4-3 loss to the US in the bronze medal play-off at the Tokyo Olympics and said the recent result was a case of deja vu.
"It hurts to be here and get so close and fall short again," she said.
"The exact same thing happened at the Olympics and it was my worst nightmare for that to happen again and it has happened again.
"We just need to grow and learn from it and never let this happen again.
After gaining unprecedented support from the public, the Matildas have said their next challenge is to get more funding for the women's game, and to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Coach Tony Gustavsson expected to have a largely stable group of players pushing for Olympic qualifiers, which start with games against Taiwan, Iran and the Philippines in Perth in October.
"A lot of these players are keen on staying for another major tournament together and I have no signals or any players (talking) about retirement or anything," he said.
"I have a good mix of experience and young players which can be an advantage as well, to have some continuity in the roster going from one tournament to another.
"It's a very short turnaround but I'm excited with the talent knocking on the door in the extended roster."
- With additional reporting by AAP.
